Search engines could have a profound influence on voters, according to psychologist Robert Epstein, whose recent study chronicles the impact of what he dubbed the "search engine manipulation effect."

Epstein has not produced any evidence that search engines intentionally manipulate elections. Even so, he claims the phenomenon is legit.

This is not a new topic for Epstein; he added to his previous body of work by using India's recent national elections as a case study. Researchers gave a group of nearly 2,000 participants -- all undecided voters -- deliberately altered search results. Those results reportedly influenced their votes.

Researchers also were able to increase the likelihood of voting and affect the level of trust for preferred candidates, according to Epstein, a senior psychologist for the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.

Even search engines that don't actively try to manipulate election results tend to favor front-running candidates, according to Epstein, and could therefore create a snowball effect.

Google published a statement in response to Epstein's research: "Providing relevant answers has been the cornerstone of Google's approach to search from the very beginning. It would undermine people's trust in our results and company if we were to change course."

Google made the
same claim, verbatim, in response to a 2013 report from Epstein.

Navy Gives Sailors Hack-Proof E-Readers

The U.S. Navy will provide specialized e-reading devices -- the Navy eReader Device, or NeRD -- to its fleets.

The devices won't have WiFi, ports or data capabilities. Such features, which are par for the course for normal e-readers, could potentially be exploited by enemies, perhaps giving away a ship's location.

The devices will be preloaded with 300 books, ranging from bestsellers to classics. Jane Austen, Shakespeare, James Joyce and J. R. R. Tolkien are among the confirmed list of authors.

Five of the devices will be distributed to each active U.S. Navy submarine fleet.

Facebook Considers Opening China Office

Facebook is and long has been blocked in China, but the company nonetheless is considering opening a sales office in the Middle Kingdom to assist local advertisers who use the site to target overseas customers.

The office could be opened within a year, according to a source cited by Bloomberg.